LIBERTY-BENTON LOCAL SCHOOLS

MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2006

BOARD OF EDUCATION OFFICE 9190 CO. RD. 9, FINDLAY OHIO

REGULAR BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING 6:00 P.M.

STRATEGIC PLANNING WORK SESSION IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING

 

I.                    Call to Order

Pledge of Allegiance ……………………………………………Jeff Shadle, Board President

II.                 Recognition of Visitors

III.               Approval of minutes from the Monday, September 18, 2006 regular board of education meeting and the September 18, 21, and October 2, 2006 special board of education meetings.

IV.              Communications and Discussion

Denise Matson and Tim Nichols, family fitness programming summary

V.                 Principals’ Reports

Brian Burkett, Bruce Otley, Brenda Frankart

VI.              Treasurer’s Report ………………………………………………………………Lisa Dobbins

VII.            Superintendent’s Report ……………………………………………………….Dennis Recker

VIII.         New Business

A.      Approve Consent Agenda, to include:

1.        Listing of bills, expenditures, and investments through 9/30/06, and monthly financial report of the Treasurer.

2.       Approve appropriation modifications for October 2006

3.       Approve “Then and Now” PO #128621 to Hancock County ESC for 2005-06 DIEBELS

4.       Accept from Ohio Department of Education $9000 Ohio K-12 Network FY07 Building Connectivity Subsidy Payment

5.       Approve transfer from fund 001 (General Fund) to fund 451 (OneNet) in the amount of $2400

6.       Accept Martha Holden Jennings Grant in the amount of $2996 for creation of Multi-Sensory Resource Center

7.       Approve contract renewal with Means, Bichimeier, Burkholder, and Baker for services throughout the 2006-07 school year

8.       Approve Janet Jones, 2 hr aide effective October 9, 2006

9.       Approve John Smith, mail courier, 1 hr per day, effective 10-2-06

10.   Approve the following changes to classified personnel:

Kerry Teeple, Increase 2.5 hrs per day, Title One

Melissa Cramer, Increase 2.5 hrs per day, Title One

Melissa Cramer, Increase 1.5 hrs per day Special education aide

Brenda Terrian, 1.75 hrs per day will be Title One (identification of Title One time)

Sharon McCartney, 2.5 hrs per day will be Title One (identification of Title One time)

Terri Heiser, Additional .5 hr per day effective 10-2-06

Tenna Tuttle, additional .25 hrs per day bus route time

Brenda Helms, additional .25 hrs per day bus route time

Karen Crawford, additional .25 hrs per day bus route time

11.   Approve the following changes to certified personnel:

Brandon Cupples, increase to 4M

12.   Approve Family Medical Leave from approximately December 18, 2006 through March 26, 2007 for Melissa Ruhe

13.   Approve Family Medical Leave from November 13, 2006 through January 2, 2007 for Melissa Stanton

14.   Approve Family Medical Leave from March 6, 2007 through end of school year for Abbie Murray

15.   Approve Family Medical Leave for Kelley Lackey, if and when needed, up through January 2, 2007

16.   Approve Martha Boyd, long term substitute for Kelley Lackey, if and when needed, up through January 2, 2007

17.   Approve Martha Boyd, Julie Todd, and Kelley Foltz as tutors for OGT preparation.

18.   Approve Kevin Cramner, Mike Cook, and Bill Pickett as volunteers to the Liberty-Benton football program.

B.     Re-appoint Joyce Jackson in her role of district testing coordinator beginning the 2006-07 school year.

      IX.        Other Business

X.                 Executive Session

XI.               Adjournment

 

LIBERTY-BENTON LOCAL SCHOOLS

OCTOBER DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORT

DENNIS L. RECKER, SUPERINTENDENT

 

  1. We see our costs per pupil for the 2005-06 school year being $7678 per pupil.  If we were to put this year’s figure into last year’s comparison group of similar schools, we’d still be 14th of 20th, or 6th from the bottom in costs.  We need to also see what we spend per pupil by grade level.  Sometimes folks “harp” on the cost of extra-curriculars, but in the total scope of operational cost, we see some unique history.  Last year at the high school level, per pupil costs were $6361 per pupil (which includes extra-curriculars), $7680 per pupil for middle school, and $7214 for elementary school students.  If anything, this should demonstrate that we are “investing” at the lower grade levels.  We’ll also see an increase of 4% in instructional costs alone this coming year due to us hiring additional staff in middle school mathematics (1.5 FTE), and 4.5 additional resource specialists (inclusion model) to attack the AYP issue.  This 4% is above the normal cost increases we anticipated in negotiated settlements.  Last year’s Ohio charter school average was just under $6900/child.
  2. I asked Mr. Scoles to do some follow-up research for me.  We have a photo of “13 Years Together” for children who start and complete their careers at L-B.  Last year, of 86 graduates, 29 students met this criteria.  Now it becomes even more interesting.  We have 75% of our graduates take the ACT and they had a 22.9 composite average, a 70th percentile performance, a phenomenal performance on the students’ part.  As for the 29 students who attended all 13 years, 27 took the ACT (93% of the group) and averaged a 23.3, placing our 93% in the top 25% for 75th percentile of college bound students.  I guess this makes us doubly phenomenal.  This helps show why the Miller City’s and Fort Jennings of the world do so well, but more so it speaks to Liberty-Benton being a tremendous school because those who come here to learn grow just as much.  We just don’t have enough time with the kids.
  3. I’ve asked for our insurance consultant to seek options in the future for the following reason.  If we continue our trend history, in 2009-2010, our family health premiums will be $21,718 per year.  In 2003-04, the family premium cost was $7740 for the year.  This is not sustainable.
  4. Enclosed is a segment from an article “The 17 Reasons Why Football is Better Than High School”.  It is informative and very real.  (Item A)
  5. Enclosed are copies of “The Board”.  (Item B)
  6. I received a copy of the Ohio Public Expenditure Council newsletter which holds two areas of interest for us, the Commercial Activities Tax (C.A.T.) and a segment that briefly shows how school districts are affected by state foundation.  Since this is formula based, however, the $5402 FY07 allocation to L-B is truly $2700 (approximately) in state aid since we’re about a 50/50 school.  (Item C)
  7. I attended a panel discussion about Ohio School Facilities Construction programs.  We’re filing for “Emergency Needs”, and could get 50% of a building state funded.  However, the forewarning is that the commission determines size and scope of the building and we have very little “say” in what happens throughout the project.  Also, I found out that pre-school space isn’t eligible for funding.  I guess there is a growing concern of not enough money to fund these projects.
  8. We talk of great rigor and the Ohio Core which is being considered for adoption.  Again, this is a competition of sorts between states.  At L-B, we’ve spent the past ten years aligning staff and curriculum offerings so we are at a point where, for example, 93% of the class of 2003 met the proposed Ohio Core requirements.  (Item D)
  9. We look at cash balances and see dollars.  We should think in terms of actual days of cash.  In theory, 180 days is nice because that is one academic year.  Even though our cash balance for FY07 is larger, note the history of true days cash value.

    Year (FY)                Dollar cost per day     True days cash     Dollars needed to achieve 180 days

($153,000 per mill)

                Actual 03                      $25, 500                        180                               0                      0

            Actual 04                      $26, 929                        171                               $242,361           1.6 mils

            Actual 05                      $26, 949                        171                               $242,541           1.6 mils

            Actual 06                      $28,449                         201                              

            Projected 07                  $30,218                         192

            Projected 08                  $32,566                         138                               $1,367,772         8.9 mils

            Projected 09                  $34,548                         85                                 $3,282,060         21.3 mils

            Projected 2010              $37,098                         4                                  $6,529,248         42.4 mils

  1. Cross Country Thank you.  (Item E)
  2. Last year, Ohio provided an average of $899 per pupil to private and parochial schools for student support and administrative reimbursement.  Any transportation costs are in addition to this.  Last year our per pupil transportation costs were approximately $357.  Therefore Ohio reimbursed each parochial child an average of $1256.  What is interesting is the perception that taking state dollars requires parochial or private schools to teach “required” curriculum referenced in the enclosed story.  Upon checking with local private school officials, this is a “red herring” and simply not true.  L-B’s state subsidy ended up being $3170 per pupil.  (Item F)
  3. I asked Mr. Eckhart to check our level of student access to technology in terms of student to computer ratio, relative to the rest of the county.  Ohio had set a goal of 5-1 when they were involved in the SchoolNet initiative.  Not all schools responded, but of those who did, the following results are noted:

Arlington:                      4-1

Cory-Rawson:               5-1

Van Buren:                   2.4-1

Vanlue:                         5-1

Liberty-Benton:             2.6-1

  1.  I just compared our substitute hourly rate to one of the county schools.  We pay secretaries $.25, custodian $2.25, food service $1.30, bus drivers $1.66 and aides $.75 an hour more than they do.
  2. We submitted applications to the Ohio School Facilities Commission to seek replacement of the elementary school, middle school, or both.  We were reviewed last year and received on site reviews but were turned down.  If we were to be accepted this would be a share cost of about 50/50, half school facilities monies, and the other half requiring an affirmative vote of our district.
  3. I’ve very happy with our teaching staff’s interest in post graduate classes.  We’ve had a number of staff awarded grants as part of their coursework assignments.  Jordan Hamilton just had a Martha Holden Jennings grant awarded to create a multi-sensory resource center.  This is an example of post graduate coursework linked to teacher practice, resulting in a tangible outcome for students.
  4. I’ve enclosed a copy of engagement letter from Lisa Burleson which should be board approved.  (Item G)
  5. The Buckeye Association of School Administrators conducted a free law workshop.  Topics centered on school funding and reducing losses of revenue by uncovering some of the schemes used by community and charter schools in siphoning off additional revenue.  Last year public schools were able to disallow 10% of their losses statewide.

We also looked at state sanctions on schools that have “over-representation” of special education students and the possible state sanctions associated with over-representation.  Over the past five years, Ohio’s special needs population has increased from 13% to 14.5%.  Ohio’s overall student population has increased by 8,000 students but the special needs population has increased by 40,000 in that same time.

We also looked at how worker’s compensation is affecting school districts and how the change in law will affect school districts. 

We also spent time reviewing the school construction process and actually heard the point of view of the contractors involved.  It was good to see this perspective and how these people are stymied in what they can do because of statute and Ohio School Facility Commission rules.  The bottom line is that once any of these types of projects start, the superintendent may as well wait for the grand opening because everything in the construction process is controlled by OSFC.  We just get all the blame when the cost overruns come in.  It was kind of humorous, but the group who had been through these projects and attending this meeting were not smiling.  We need to be aware of this, should we become involved in construction projects with OSFC.

  1. Enclosed is an executive summary of the latest research on teacher quality, “Educating School Teachers”.  I also added my insight which had been requested.  (Item H)
  2. Two articles from “The American School Boards Journal” and some accompanying L-B performance data.  One article is “ACT scores rise, but many not ready for college”, and the other is some board of education research regarding “goal displacement”.  (Item I)
  1. When looking at the national statistic of 40% of teachers ready to retire within five years, we need to see how we are impacted at L-B.  We’ve configured our staff over the past 10 years to not be impacted by this very real problem faced by education in general.  Of our staff who would be retirement eligible within 5 years, we have the following breakdown:      

Elementary       8 of 40 = 20%

Middle              5 of 29 = 17.2%

High School      3 of 30 = 10%

Total                 16 of 99 = 16.2%

We also have “re-trained” four staff to function in other areas, i.e., advanced science, special education,

counseling, and have hired two “12 hour” instructors for dance and computer science instruction.  Our

biggest “bubble” is the elementary staff, and colleges and universities have created a huge surplus of

certificated staff in that area.  Our middle school staff within the five year window are social science,

teachers, a current teacher surplus area.

We saw this “problem” ten years ago, and have used staff re-training and hiring practices that show how

we’ve addressed this potential problem.  Of the 16 folks within 5 years of possible retirement, two are in a

“hard to staff” area, but we’re already looking at possible solutions, if and when those retirements occur.

We now have the third highest pay schedule in the county for teachers at the Masters plus 30 hour level,

($59,389 after 22 years), so we shouldn’t be losing these staff to “higher bidders”, unless the other

schools decide to increase compensation.  This is unlikely due to the other schools financial difficulties

they face.

            As a board of education and as a community, we need to be cognizant of this looming scenario.

            The quality of our new hires is excellent.  While working on the article “Educating School Teachers”, our

last 20 staff hired had approximately a 23.5 ACT composite average, with the middle school/high school

teachers, who are subject specialists, posting a 24.7 average, and our elementary staff posting a 22.4

 average.  These performance levels tend to “go against” the main point of the study which states that

educators tend to be low performancers.  At least that is the way it is for L-B.

  1. We’ll need to declare the upstairs gym floor obsolete.  We can legitimately do this since it depreciated out to August, 2006.
  2. I’ve been asked to represent Ohio Superintendents on a committee to work with the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
  3. I’ve spent time discussing with three different insurance agents the value of Health Savings Accounts.  Two years ago, our consortium representative and I reviewed possible courses of action, which included HSA’s, once our premium costs accelerated to a “prohibitive” level.  What seemed like “a good idea at the time” sometimes ends up not working.  I’ve enclosed two articles that address high insurance costs and the stumbling blocks of HSA’s.  On top of all this, we’re part of a 9 member consortium and we have negotiated agreements which are binding.  However, I have created an option for the consortium to look at and discuss which might be a decent and fair solution (at least from our perspective).  After I’d shared the information requested by the two different agents, neither saw a possible “savings” in our health coverage, and one agent thought there might be some administrative savings in the dental component only.  While that tells me we’re probably getting our best service for the best price, it also tells me to look at creative “options” that might protect our employees health wise and the school district financially.  (Item J)
  4. We may be on the verge of receiving state “supplemental gap aid” this year per our preliminary SF-3.  This was one of the “concerns” we raised to the community when we sought our additional 3.5 mil issue.  This is formula driven, based on the difference of 20 required mils and 3 additional state “charged off” mils.  Henceforth, any additional voted millage will require that we add the value of the “supplemental aid” in addition to what we’d normally request.  Lisa and I will need to keep an eye on this.
  5. About six weeks ago, the Department of Commerce sent us a letter voicing their concern about our lack of documentation regarding the removal of underground storage tanks, which I had done in 1992.  We had underground fuel tanks at the bus garage and underground fuel oil tanks at the elementary that were going to require extensive remediation and ground testing after September, 1992.  We were able to have everything removed prior to August of the same year, and have all necessary testing of soils and ground water to allow closure to these items.  Apparently, there was a “foul-up” in Columbus and we were notified of our supposed errors.  Luckily, we kept all documentation, and submitted copies to the Commerce Department.  We just received a formal letter stating “No Further Action Status Regarding Closure Assessment Requirements”.  In other words, we did it right the first time.
  6. At my BASA fall meeting, we received a “Job Change Scoreboard”.  Ten years ago, there were 60-70 changes per year, compared to this year’s 132.  The past few years have shown a dramatic increase in these changes.  What is somewhat scary is the number of unfilled positions (four of these by calendar year’s end) and the number of interim and retirees back in “harness”.  (Item K)
  7. Enclosed is an Ohio School Facilities Commission ranking list.  L-B is at 304, and this gives a “visual” of how close we are in being eligible for assistance.  I sent our Emergency Needs proposals in for consideration the last week of September.  (Item L)
  8. It appears the Core curriculum proposal will pass.  If it were in place today, L-B would have 86% of its seniors meeting this standard.  We placed staff and our coursework in position to allow this type of success.  Other schools will have difficulty implementing the Core.  The state may lengthen the time for “phase in” of the program.  Our vulnerability will be, not in providing the Core, but the even higher levels of instruction.  Some schools in eastern Ohio, who haven’t been able to build cash reserves like us and to hire the high level of subject specialists, will be forced to eliminate their upper level math, foreign language, and science offerings.  We need to be aware of this unintended consequence because it could eventually affect us.
  9. Note the “Silly Season” school legislation.  Those items which could impact schools are listed in the copy of the power point slides.  Only in Ohio, would we face “carry concealed” legislation when children are being shot throughout the U.S.  (Item M)
  10. Talk about a “dis-connect”.  A Knowledge Works Foundation poll listing public priorities for the future of Ohio Education has these “nuggets” to think about:

46.2% of people polled believe today’s high school graduates are less likely to have the skills needed for college and jobs as compared to 10 years ago.  Building on that statement, 71.2% of those adults polled agree that all high school graduates should either go to college or receive additional training.  54.1% believe it very or extremely important that Ohio increase the percentage of adults who have a college degree and 32.5% believe it to be “somewhat” important.  Now for the “rub”.  40.4% of adults somewhat or strongly favor a college prep curriculum for all high school students, while 56.5% are somewhat or strongly opposed.  86.6% believe it important that we increase college degree holders, yet 56.5% opposed to requiring college prep courses for all students.  People want higher educated adults, yet are opposed to the needed coursework to help these students succeed.  I just found this “interesting”.  (Item N)

  1. I found a chart “By the Numbers” showing state by state comparisons of ACT performance.  I added L-B separately.  This shows some great performances on the part of our students.  (Item O)
  2. Mr. Shadle and I attended the fall Northwest Ohio School Boards Meeting.  Liberty-Benton received two recognition awards, one being for Mr. Shadle himself, honoring him for ten years of board of education service, and the other recognizing Liberty-Benton High School and Mrs. Frankart for their selection as Student Achievement Fair participants at the upcoming All Ohio School Boards Capital Conference.
  3. Now that we’re able to commence the installation of the auxiliary floor at the high school, I’ve authorized a topographic summary for the 12 plus acres for the design of a soccer field (and future baseball/softball fields), plus the preparation of an existing condition plan.
  1. We always begin the school year, placing support staff on a minimum hour work schedule.  We then modify schedules, based on student needs and to improve needed services in all our support areas.  The time we’re increasing equates to 1.5 full time equivalent.
  2. With schools rated as Excellent not achieving AYP, one should wonder how this might occur, or what trend we might be witnessing.  Note the following for Ohio school buildings:

AYP MET                                                                                AYP NOT MET

2003-04            2004-05            2005-06            2003-04            2004-05            2005-06

389                   338                   193                   219                   271                   417

Source:  Dr. Mitchell Chester, Ohio Department of Education

  1. We just received OGT results and believe we need to hire tutors ASAP to help with the next “go-around” of the OGT for our current seniors who need help.  Am asking approval for Martha Boyd, Kelley Foltz, and Julie Todd in these roles.  (Item P)
  2. We’ve had a request to approve Bill Pickett, Mike Cook, and Kevin Cramner as school volunteers for the football program.  (Item P)
  3. We need to approve FMLA leaves for Kelley Lackey, Abbie Murray, Melissa Stanton, and Melissa Ruhe.
  4. Jeff has his bus routes all in synch.  We’re doing an additional 46 miles a day, from 774 to 820 miles per day.  Student ridership has also increased 67 students daily, from 978 to 1045.
  5. Joyce Jackson has been serving as our testing coordinator under a temporary certificate in Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional development for the past two years, which I’d annually renew.  Temporary certificates no longer exist, and are replaced by an alternative administrator specialist.  This two year certificate, duration of two years, now requires a board resolution, which we must send with her application.  The area of responsibility is Pupil Services administration, so Joyce can continue to serve as testing coordinator, until she receives her counseling or principal certificate, which she is currently completing.
  6. I found a “fact sheet” from the Ohio Partnership for Continued Learning.  I know we worry about how our children are impacted and the stress placed upon them (and us moms and dads).  This item places the rationale of the Ohio Core in perspective, as it relates to different states and the negative impact we may face for failing to act.  Again, L-B is about 5-10 years “ahead of the curve” based upon what we provide our children in terms of opportunity.  (Item Q) 
  7. Wow!  Talk about a “teachable moment”.  The accompanying editorial makes a very good case to support senior citizens.  (insert students)

The editorial talks about the senior citizen center actually losing money due to the phase out of personal property tax (insert school district for senior citizen center).

The article calls for more money needed in the future because of a growing senior citizen population (insert L-B, population 802 in 1990 vs. 1274 in 2006).  The senior citizen population will increase by 50% in 20 years (L-B has increased nearly 60% in 15 years).

A lot of senior citizens will require additional space and staff to meet their needs (L-B school has doubled the percentage of its special needs students, faced NCLB requirements, and modernized its technical education opportunities and improved its course offerings).  We’re trying to meet our children’s needs and improve their opportunities for success past high school.

The editorial continues with a “litany” of activities that enrich lives and support independence.  The same holds true for the Liberty-Benton Schools.  What is being touted for the senior citizens mirrors what we do for children.

Now, for the “kicker”.  The agency seeks a 50% increase in its millage rate to cover the next four years.  They’ve been able to sustain their operations with their current millage, for four years, having voted their current increase in 2002.  L-B voted their last increased millage in 1994 and has gone 12 years without an increase. 

In the future, when we need revenue, will we get the needed support?  Or do we ask the Agency for the Aging to cut seniors and personnel?  I guess the difference between our children and the senior citizens is not just the 50 years of age that separate tem, but the value we place upon them as human beings.

Now for the hard, cold, facts.  The senior citizens are asking for a 50% increase in their taxpayer revenue, which was created in 2002, the MRDD just voted a 50% increase in their taxpayer revenue, and yet we’re “holding our own” financially.  If we were to seek an equivalent increase, we’d be asking for nearly 14 mils.  (Item R)

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Liberty-Benton Board of Education

October 16, 2006

6:00 p.m.

 

1) Camp Storer:  I am pleased to share that 100% (all 103) of our sixth grade students enjoyed a week long camping experience October 9-13, 2006 in beautiful Jackson, Michigan.  I would like to thank the Board of Education and the Liberty-Benton PTO for their support of the trip in making this possible.  I spent the day at the Camp with the students on Wednesday, October 11, 2006.  On this day, Liberty-Benton students participated in many valuable educational experiences such as:

The counselors at the camp approached me many times with compliments regarding our students.  Liberty-Benton Middle School also set a record of 4 meals with zero food waste (that is ZERO—not bad for 103 kids plus chaperones).  In recognition for this outstanding achievement, our school’s name will adorn the wall in the cafeteria.  I am so proud of our kids!  I would also like to thank the following parents that volunteered as cabin leaders for the week.

Camp Storer Cabin Leaders

Mike Lundeen

Mike Vorst

Troy Hoagland

Karl Farwig

Joe Curto

Doug Peters

Kyra Oaks

Tina Walko

Terri Helms

Stephanie Miller

Mimi Burner 

 

2) Fall Athletes Recognized: On Thursday, October 12, 2006 a pep rally was held in recognition of our fall athletes and their accomplishments.  Our pep band played the fight song and other mood setting numbers and our students enjoyed an afternoon celebrating school spirit and community pride.  Notable accomplishments were: Football: 6-1, 7th Volleyball 11-3, and Girls Cross Country: four 1st place finishes, two 2nd place finishes and 4 third place finishes.  Our Fall Sports Awards Ceremony will be Thursday, October 19th at 7:00 p.m. 

 

3) PTO Magazine Sales Fundraiser a Success: September 15th -October 3rd students at the middle school participated in a magazine fund raiser.  I would like to thank the students, staff, parents, PTO, and community for a successful magazine sale.  Our gross sales were almost $30,000.00, of which, PTO recieves 40%.  This is double our anticipated sales!  I think that the students enjoyed the many prizes and cash incentives for selling as much as I and our PTO officers enjoyed giving them away.  On Thursday, October 19th, 128 students will be given 43 minute blocks of time to enjoy the Ohio Air Extreme inflatables from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m for selling six or more subscriptions.  80 students that sold 10 or more magazine subscriptions will be having a limo ride/pizza lunch on Friday, October 27th.  Students will be picked up out front of the school and ride a stretch SUV in groups of about 20 to Stevi B’s Pizza between the hours of 10:30-1:30 p.m.  The students will be out of school for about 45 minutes while they enjoy their ride and lunch at Stevi B’s. 

 

4) Web Updates: We have added a few updates to our website in an effort to help keep parents informed about school related issues.  I have received many positive comments from parents regarding this.  The following links can now be found on our website. 

 

5) Two Hour Collaboration Day Analyzing and Interpreting the Ohio Achievement Testing Data: I led an in-service on Thursday, October 12, 2006 on this topic.  The Ohio Department of Education now provides schools with a wealth of student data report sheets for the new Ohio Achievement Tests.  I attended an OASSA conference last year on data analysis and shared how-to-methods on disaggregating the data on the item analysis reports to build standards profiles on student performance.  This data can then be used to make informed classroom plans to instruct and prepare for success. 

 

6) Crisis Plans: At our last county principal meeting, crisis plans were discussed.  Mr. Burket, Mr. Horstma and I revisited our procedures in August.  On September 28th, we conducted a level 2 lockdown drill.  Deputy Mike McGuire was present during the drill.  At the county principal’s meeting, Deputy McGuire commented that Liberty-Benton was the leading school in the county regarding crisis planning.

7) Midterms:  Interim reports were sent home on October 6th with the students.  Other midterm dates are:

Qtr. 2 – December 8
Qtr. 3 – February 23
Qtr. 4 – May 4 

8) Parent-Teacher Conferences:  Parent teacher conferences have been changed this in order to provide parents with three dates to choose from. The following are the scheduled conference times:

Thursday, November 16 @ 5:30-8:30

Monday, November 20  @ 5:30-8:30

Tuesday, November 21 @  8:30-11:30 and 1:00-4:00

9) Junior National Honors Society: There will be 21 students inducted into the National Junior Honor Society on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. at Vanlue. 

10) OASSA Fall Conference:  I will be attending the OASSA fall conference in Columbus, Ohio October 22-24.  While there, I’ll be attending sessions regarding legislative updates, legal updates as well as other sessions on increasing student academic performance. 

Upcoming Dates:

 

October 19                  Ohio Air Extreme Reward

                                    Fall Sports Awards Program 7:00 p.m.

October 24                  National Junior Honor Society Ceremony @ Vanlue 7:00 p.m.
October 26                  Picture re-takes

October 27                  Limo ride/pizza luncheon reward

November 3                 End of the first 9 weeks

November 10               Veterans Day Assembly at McComb

November 16               Parent-teacher conferences 5:30-8:30

November 20               Parent-teacher conferences 5:30-8:30

November 21               Parent-teacher conferences 8:30-11:30 and 1:00-4:00

November 23               Thanksgiving Break

November 27               School resumes

ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Liberty-Benton Board of Education

October 16, 2006

 

As of today, we have the following number of students in our elementary program:

                                                                                    Sept. 2006

Pre-school        -    21  (1 section – ½ a.m. & ½ p.m.)              (  21)

Kindergarten    -    99 (5 sections – avg. class 19.8)                  (  98)                 

First Grade       -    78 (4 sections – avg. class 19.5)                  (  77)                 

Second Grade  -    82 (4 sections – avg. class 20.5)                  (  82)                 

Third Grade      -  108 (5 sections – avg. class 21.6)                  (108)                 

Fourth Grade    -    85 (4 sections – avg. class 21.3)                  (  85)                 

Fifth Grade       -  104 (5 sections – avg. class 21.0)                  (104)                 

TOTAL (K-5):  556 School Average:  20.6                          (554)    Average (20.5)

                           (577 with pre-school) 
 

1.      Our PTO Carnival was a huge success this year on September 30th.  Our families had a wonderful time at this event.  It was truly a joint effort by our teachers, staff, parents, and local community to pull off this wonderful community event.  I want to also thank our high school students that helped volunteer, some for service hours, and for others just to help out!  Our final numbers are pretty much in and the report shows that our PTO will have a profit of approximately $4,100 for this four hour event.  The PTO is also conducting a survey to help make this an even better event next year – if that is possible.  I would also like to thank Mr. Otley, Mr. Horstman, Mr. Niemeyer, and Mr. York for joining me in our turns in the dunk tank this year!

 

2.      We have conducted two fire drills and one lock down drill already in the first month of school.  Deputy Mike McGuire, our school resource officer, was on site to assist us with these and officially document them as they are required by law.  Deputy McGuire has shared that Liberty-Benton is certainly a leader in this area in Hancock County.

 

3.      Parent-Teacher Conferences will start to be scheduled soon.  We have moved one of our night sessions from the traditional Tuesday evening to the Thursday evening the week before to help facilitate more beneficial meeting times for our parents.  Our conferences will be as follows:

Thursday, Nov. 16th     5:30-8:30 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 20th       5:30-8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 21st       8:30-11:30 a.m. & 1:00-4:00 p.m.

 

4.      I will be attending the OAESA Professional Conference Sunday, Oct. 15 through Tuesday, Oct.

     17th in Columbus and will not be able to attend the board meeting on Monday evening.  While

     there, I will also be participating in the SAIL (Standards Based Instructional Leadership)

     Institute.  This is a two-year professional development program designed to give administrators

     the tools necessary to drive student achievement forward in a systematic and results-driven

     manner.  I look forward to this as we have a big job ahead of us, and it is one that I take very

     seriously.  We have a remarkable program in place at this time that has demonstrated great

     improvement in the last five years.  Our goal is to continue this level of achievement, while

     continuing to explore ways to strengthen our program and students further.

 

5.      With the recent incidences across the nation involving schools and an elevated alert level from the Ohio Department of Education, I have sent a letter home to parents reviewing some important procedures at the elementary building.  The letter reviewed visitor and volunteer procedures, student drop-off in the morning, end of the day dismissal, and an improved procedure for changes to students’ routines at the end of the day with our families.  We also have informed our staff to be more attentive to visitors and the procedures to be followed by them.

 

6.      We will be having a special Veterans Day Program this year that will include all students K-12 students from our district, as well as McComb.  As a joint project with McComb, we will be bringing, with the financial support of several businesses, Sgt. First Class Dana Bowman to our schools for three assemblies on Nov. 10th in observance of Veterans Day.  His inspirational and motivation message is entitled, “Never Quit.”  We will be busing our students for this special program to McComb’s auditorium.  In addition to our assemblies, Dana Bowman will also be speaking at a special program on Thursday night, November 9th at 7:30 p.m.  This is a free presentation and open to the Liberty-Benton and McComb communities, as well as Hancock County Veterans. It is intended for adults, as our students will be seeing this presentation on Friday during their assemblies.  If you would like more information, you can check this out from the following website:  http://www.sabolich.tv/Dana.htm - just follow either the “School Talks” or “Straight Talk Version 3…” links.  I have included a copy of the flyer we have made to distribute to the public as an attachment for you as well.  We look forward to this special presentation!

 

7.      Because of the growing number of students with potentially serious issues with diabetes, the elementary is planning on taking 8 staff members to an in-service entitled, “How to Help the Student with Diabetes Success:  A Seminar Geared Towards Educational Personnel.”  This conference will be conducted at St. Luke’s Hospital in Toledo at the end of this month.  We look forward to learning how to better help our students affected now and the growing number we may face in the years to come.

 

UPCOMING ELEMENTARY EVENTS:

(May be viewed on website under elementary section – event calendar)

 

October 16      PTO Family Movie Night 6:45 p.m. “The Wild” and “Over the Hedge”

October 20      PTO Wolfie’s Nuts Fundraiser (K-5) Begins

October 21      October GYM (Get Youth Moving) Event at Swing Time (1:00-3:00 p.m.)

October 22      October GYM Event at Litzenberg Woods - Color Hike (2:00 p.m.)

October 23      Title I Parent Meeting 7:00 p.m.

October 25      COSI on Wheels Assemblies and Break-out Sessions – Theme: “Super Structures”

October 27      Fall Parties 2:30 p.m.

November 3     End of 1st Grading Period

November 8     Stevi B’s Night

November 13   Elementary Progress Reports (Grade Cards) go home

November 14   PTO Meeting 7:00 p.m.

November 16   Parent Teacher Conferences 5:30-8:30 p.m.

November 20   Parent Teacher Conference 5:30-8:30 p.m.

November 21  Parent Teacher Conferences 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:00-4:00 p.m.

                        Thanksgiving Break begins

 

HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Liberty-Benton Board of Education
October 11, 2006
6:00 P.M.

1.)                Leadership Day -  Our Student Leadership Day held on September 28th was awesome!  Our speaker, Harvey Alston, really helped to set the tone for the day, and all of our STRIDES groups had a great all-day kick-off for the year.  I could not be more pleased with what a great job all of our student leaders did in leading the activities.  I greatly thank the Liberty-Benton Academic Boosters and PTO for their financial support of making this day possible.  It is one of the things that I really believes helps to set us apart from many other high schools, the fact that we take the time to build relationships with the kids and to develop leadership and service among them.

2.)                Congratulations to our Fall Sports -  Our golfers made it to the State meet after winning the B.V.C. title.  The volleyball teams have had an enjoyable season.  All of the soccer teams are having highly competitive seasons in the Midland Suburban Soccer League.  Both the girls’ and boys’ soccer teams won their conference.  Football is going strong, and cross country has been traveling to many big meets and experiencing a lot of success.  Good Luck to all of these teams as they wind down their regular seasons and head into tournament time.  Go, Eagles!

[As a side note, luckily, the state golf tournament does not fall during “Count Week” as we have many students planning to attend on Friday, Oct. 13th.]

3.)                Congratulations to the Marching Band -  Congratulations to the high school marching band.  In their first year of competitive marching at various area contests, they have been quite successful.  You have definitely noticed their outstanding performances each week at our Friday night football games, and I especially commend them on their “Excellent” rating at their recent performance in the Maumee Marching Band Festival.  Be sure to congratulate our marching band students and directors when you see them!

4.)                Homecoming & Spirit Week -  I would like to thank our student council and cheerleaders for planning such a nice Homecoming spirit week with daily activities, powderpuff football, the Homecoming Court ceremony, the pep rally, and the dance.  I know our students enjoyed themselves, and we appreciate all of the hard work that goes into this special week.  A special congratulations to our entire Homecoming Court and to our Queen Sarah Robb and our King Wyatt Elbin!  On a side note, we had our largest attendance EVER at a dance on October 7th for the Homecoming Dance.  We have our largest enrollment ever and we also had the most students bringing in guests that we have ever had before.  I am also very happy to report that it was one of the best behaved and cooperative dances we have had in a long time!!!  Everyone was great, and we made sure to compliment them on their behaviors as we greatly appreciated it.  Clearly, they had a lot of fun, too, at this dance.

5.)                Midterms  -  Our first quarter midterms were mailed home with the school fees on October 7th.  This year is flying by fast, and already, the first nine weeks will end on November 3rd.

6.)                Crisis Plans Updated -  Our crisis plan has been updated for the year, and teachers have received their revised copies.  We will hold a drill in the future, and this process will be documented with our school resource officer.

7.)                Sex Offender Training -  The county principals were provided with training on the sex offenders registration and notification processes.  We learned a lot about the differences between the three possible titles and the status and requirements of each.  As you know, we are notified by law enforcement of any sex offenders in our area, and we are required to share all information with staff to make sure we keep an eye out for any suspected inappropriate activity around the school environment.

8.)                Summer Ohio Graduation Test Results -  We had seven students (current juniors and seniors) pass some of their summer O.G.T. tests.  As of this point in time, we have 3 seniors who still need to pass some OGT sections.  One needs to pass science; one needs to pass science and social studies; and the third needs to pass math and social studies.  This is why I have requested that we board approve some tutors to assist these three seniors as they need to brush up on their skills and strategies for the October testing at the end of the month.  The good news is that we only have 3 juniors who are still working to pass their OGT’s, and they have made some good progress each time in passing some of their remaining sections.  Thank you to Kelley Foltz, Julie Todd, and Martha Boyd for agreeing to tutor these students.

9.)                OASSA Fall Conference -  I will be attending the OASSA Fall Conference in Columbus on October 22-24, 2006.

10.)            National Honor Society -  We have 31Liberty-Benton High School students being inducted into the Hancock County National Honor Society at the induction ceremony being held on November 6th at McComb High School.

11.)            Parent-Teacher Conferences -  We are looking forward to our high school parents attending our annual parent-teacher conferences.  This year we have a new schedule with conferences being held during the following sessions:

November 16        5:30-8:30

November 20        5:30-8:30

November 21        8:30-11:30 & 1:00-4:00

12.)            Online Calendar -  We have been receiving compliments for having our new online calendar.  Thank you to Gary Altman and Andrew Eckhart for making this possible and to Pam Schimmoeller for entering all of the information.  I am glad the parents find it to be a useful resource.

13.)            Upcoming Events:

October 16 & 23               ACT Review @ LBHS, 7:00-9:30

October 20                                    Red Ribbon Week Kick-Off

October 25                                    Stevi B’s Night

October 26                                    Picture Retakes

November 3                       End of 1st Nine Weeks

November 6                       National Honor Society Induction, @ McComb H.S., 7:30

November 10                     Veterans Day Assembly in McComb

November 16                     Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 16                     Academic Boosters Meeting, 7:00 p.m.

November 17                     Honor Roll Ice Cream Social, 2:15

November 20 & 21            Parent-Teacher Conferences